Selling Smartwatches Online: High Profit Potential and Solid Sell Rates in Wearable Tech

5 min. read
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Wearable technology has become an integral part of everyday life in recent years. The most notable example is the smartwatch, which allows users to manage their communication, fitness tracking, and entertainment tools and applications on a device that's literally attached to their body. With constant innovation from tech giants, you can expect the demand for wearable gadgets to grow rapidly in the coming years, meaning there will be plenty of potential for savvy sellers to make money in this market.

SaleHoo Labs features a variety of smartwatches with a range of features and prices, which shows how active this market has become. It's no longer solely dominated by a select few major tech companies. With smartwatches expecting to reach 243 million units in total sales over the next 5 years, this could be the “it” product to sell at present.

Before riding along with the trend, this blog will help you decide if selling smartwatches online will indeed be a smart choice for you and your business.

1. Types of Smartwatches

The concept of a smartwatch is it functions just like a regular watch, but with many of the features of a smartphone. With top manufacturers competing to be the best in this category, let's explore some of the features and functionalities that are currently available:

  • Fitness trackers: This type has a small chip fitted at the bottom of the watch that allows its computer application to record the user's physical activity, together with other data relating to fitness or health. Most fitness trackers record number of steps taken, calories burned, heart rate, and sometimes a GPS to measure your run/walk.
  • Companion smartwatch: These types need a tethered phone to function. Its main use is to receive notifications of calls, messages, reminders, and more.
  • Standalone smartwatch: It functions almost exactly like a smartphone, except that it's a watch! Standalone types can make phone calls, send messages, and access the internet with a SIM card. Some standalone smartwatches even allow users to download additional apps on their device.
  • Kids smartwatch: Ideally designed for kids, it allows a fixed dial feature set by an adult to limit kids' incoming and outgoing communication. Some brands include a GPS function to track a child's coordinates.

2. Why Sell Smartwatches?

The SaleHoo Labs show multiple results of different kinds of smartwatches. Below are 3 randomly picked examples to give us an overview of how well they perform in the market.

eBay statistics for Samsung Gear eBay statistics for Fitbit Blaze eBay statistics for Apple Watch Series 3

High Sell Rate

A sell rate of at least 50% indicates that a product is selling really well online. With the results showing sell rates of at least 63%, there is indeed market potential for smartwatches.

Of course, to be able to make constant sales, one has to know the types that are most in demand. The good thing about the Labs is that it gives you information on the types, brands, and features that are most popular. With the examples given above, Samsung and Apple brands seem to be a market favorites. Look closely and you'll realize that smartwatches with fitness trackers seem to have strong demand in the market. These are important details to consider when you're thinking about selling smartwatches.

High Selling Price

Looking at the average price will give you an idea if selling smartwatches will earn you a decent profit. Given the result of high average prices from $216-$306, these figures give you sufficient room for profit. Sellers sometimes have this mindset that it's hard to sell high-priced items when, in fact, it gives you more control over your margin.

Knowing your target market when selling high-priced items helps you stay on top of things. Keep in mind that people planning on purchasing smartwatches tend to spend on features with the most value.

Low Competition

The result shows low competition for all 3 examples. Also notice that all 3 are manufactured by big brands such as Apple and Samsung, so competition is expected to be small with the fact that high-end brands protect themselves against dilution.

You can still sell branded smartwatches online and they can be legally sourced through liquidators. If you want, there's still a chance for you to also sell non-branded smartwatches with in-demand features, by highlighting how you can meet your market's expectations.

3. General Demand

Using other resources help us identify online search trends for smartwatches. With AffiloTools Keyword Research tool, it provides information on local volume, and keywords used when people search for  "smartwatches" on search engines like Google.

*Note: The keyword search results will give you a long list but below are 6 top examples:

AffiloTools results for "smartwatch"

Local Volume provides information on how frequently a product is searched for online. Here, we are targeting a volume of at least 1,000 searches to identify the search trends for smartwatches online. With results showing 1,900 to 110,000 local volume, it only proves that there is indeed a high demand for smartwatches online.

By observing the keywords that people use when searching for "smartwatches" online you can see which keywords to use in your product listings on your online store or chosen marketplace. Apple and Samsung still attract the market as well as Sony and FitBit models. They all feature fitness trackers so this give you an idea of what type of smartwatches the market prefers.

Understanding your market's needs and wants is fundamental to the success of your online business. By allowing multiple and useful resources, it can eventually save you from overstocking and helps narrow down your targets.

 

4. Tips on Selling Smartwatches

By now, we already know the big brands that are popular with the smartwatch market. To be successful at selling smartwatches online, you can legally contact liquidators carrying these brands and re-sell them at a profit. Just remember that when selling high-end brands online, you need to discuss this thoroughly with your liquidator-supplier so they can provide you with the certificates needed to legally sell them. One thing to note, it's also important to use your own photos when re-selling these items so as not to have problems with copyright violations. Consider using a photo tent to get clean and professional shots.

There are also suppliers carrying non-branded smartwatches that are still fully-equipped with useful features - some of which can even compete with high-end brands. Instead of selling the brand itself, focus on highlighting their top functions to attract potential buyers. This strategy can also allow you to price your profits even higher for it's value.

Over to You!

We have smartwatch suppliers that all ship globally and that we have verified as safe and legitimate. You can access them instantly here in our directory.

Let us know if you're selling smartwatches online and share your success story with us! Also, please feel free to leave your comments below and let us know if we've missed something.

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Disclaimer: The information published here is strictly for informational purposes. All above items are only suggestions for possible products which we believe will sell favorably, and this article should be used as a guide only. At the time of writing, all above products were researched using methods recommended by SaleHoo and found to be potentially profitable for sellers. All sellers are encouraged to conduct their own market and product research.

 

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Rhea Bontol

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2 Comments
  • Ripped Off Buyer 2nd of January
    Beware of buying a watch on Authenticwatches.com. They sell grey goods, the watchmakers warranty is void and the watchmaker can not assure you when buying from them that the watch is new or genuine. The website Authenticwatches.com while pretending to be owbn by Authenticwatches.com, Inc is actually owned by Tranik Enterprises, Inc. In 2005 They specifically filed to change their legal name from Authenticwatches.com, Inc to Tranik Enterprises, Inc.

    Here is a question you need to ask yourself: What valid reason could a business have for changing their legal name to something entirely different and then continue to use their old business name, and not list their legal name anywhere on the website, documents, or anywhere, anyone can find it.

    Before buying checkout and read the complaints on the better business bureau:

    https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/moorpark/profile/jewelry-stores/authenticwatchescom-1236-92003976/complaints

    Read about the guy who thought he was buying a new Rolex watch but it came missing all stickers and AW refused to take it back.

    Here is AW’s response “Client claims to have received timepiece in a condition other than what was advertised. At no point in time was the timepiece advertised as "new" nor "brand new". At no point in time was the timepiece advertised to come with factory stickers.”

    There are many more horror stories on the BBB and other site. Just spend a few minutes searching before you buy. Buyer beware!
    • Rhea Bontol SaleHoo Admin 18th of March
      The said supplier is not listed in our Directory. All our suppliers have gone security checks to make sure that our members only deal with safe and trusted suppliers.
  • Thank you